The Truth Won't Set You Free
by iansgoose
Summary: Aria has recently discovered Ezra is on the A team. How will aria and the girls react to this news?
1. Chapter 1

Aria's POV

I felt awful all morning so when 12 oclock came around the corner I was eager to just check out for the day and go home. I wasn't until 12:30 that I arrived at his house. Apartment 3b that it, it was much closer to school and Ezra wouldn't even know I was here. For the past two months know I've been coming over to his place every chance I get. We've been broken up but we still talk and his place is like a second home to me. I love coming to his little cozy apartment and jumping into the bed and getting under the covers. It reminds me of old times and I miss that.

Ezra's POV

When I pulled into the apartment complex I saw Aria's car in the lot. I assumed she may have been here because spencer told me she had gone home sick. As I walked up the stairs I hoped that she would still be here and not packing up her stuff to leave. I turned the lock and entered into a semi quiet apartment. Aria was sound asleep in my bed and there where Friends reruns on, on the TV. I walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. I brushed my hand up against her rosy cheek. Her face was warm but I don't think she had that high of a fever. I went back into the kitchen and opened a can to make her some of her favorite broccoli and cheese soup.

Aria's POV

I rolled over and bed and looked at my phone 5 o'clock it said. I couldn't believe it was five I rubbed my eyes and looked again but I wasn't dreaming it was really 5 o'clock which meant Ezra would be home soon. I peaked over the covers only to see Ezra standing in the kitchen. Crap I thought to myself this had to be a nightmare so a pinched myself only to find 1 it was not a dream and 2 ouch! Ezra must have heard me waking up because he was now walking over here.

"Hi Aria, are you feeling better?" he asked

I shrugged my shoulders "I guess" I'm sorry I'm here" she said "I only meant to stay for a bit but then I guess I fell asleep"

"Don't apologize" Ezra replied "I like when you're here it's like old times"

Only it wasn't a lot had happened between us since we broke up and it was taking everything in me to not scream at him. So I just smiled "Thanks"

"I made some broccoli and cheese soup, do you want some?" Ezra asked

"Thanks but I'm fine" aria replied

"I think you should have something to eat Aria" he replied

"Really I'm fine Ezra, I should get going" she said as she got out from underneath the covers of his bed.

"Please just stay for a little while longer" he begged

"Maybe a few more minutes but then I really do have to leave Ezra" she replied

"Ok" he said as he left the room and walked back into the kitchen

A few minutes later he returned to the bedroom where Aria was getting all of her stuff together about to leave.

"I don't understand" he said to her as he sat down on the bed next to her

"Understand what" she asked confused

"Before you would've loved this, you wouldn't have gone rushing out the door, and you would've stayed the whole night and lied to you parents that you were staying the night at spencer's what changed" he asked

"Things are different know Ezra were friends but we're not in a committed relationship. I love spending time here with you, but sometimes I just need time for myself" she replied "We can still have this nice friendship but you don't need to keep doing all these nice gestures, it's hard for me to say no to you because there are time when I want you more than anything. But it's not right for us right now, you just got your job back at Rosewood and I'm looking at colleges. Plus were in two completely different places right now" She replied as she gazed back over at Ezra who clearly didn't see her words coming.

"I thought our relationship was worth fighting for" he replied

"It is but like I said we're in too completely different places right now Ezra, I need more time I'm confused.

"What do you mean we're in different places Aria?" he asked

She looked over at him and sighed "Nothing I have to go" so she got up and headed for the door. As she opened the door to walk out he grabbed her arm.

"Please talk to me Aria, Please!" his face was looked very stressed and confused.

"I can't" she replied as she walked over to the stairs.

"Aria what's going on with you? I'm trying to help you out here and your just ignoring every nice gesture I'm making here?" he replied very frustrated

She takes to steps down "No you're not, if you were a nice guy" she pauses

"If I where I nice guy what Aria" he demanded

She takes a few more steps down "I've been trying to talk myself out of this for weeks but I know it true"

"What's true Aria what the hell is going on" he begged

She walks to the bottom of the stair before she finally turns around face him, her eyes welling up with tears. She didn't want to say this to him and she hated seeing the look of sadness on him face.

"If you were a nice guy" she pauses trying not to cry, she takes a deep breath "If you were a nice guy, you would've" she sniffles "You would've told me yourself that you where, that you where A." She wipes the tears from her eyes and runs off to her car before she can see Ezra's reaction.

"Aria wait" he calls from the stair well. But it was too late she had just gotten into her car tears streaming down her cheeks. She had been holding that in for weeks and she couldn't believe she actually said that to him. She cried her whole way back to the apartment she was currently sharing with Toby.

Back at Ezra's he walked back into his apartment and slammed the door. He dialed some number but before we heard the person answer he screamed into the phone "How the hell did she find out I was working for you" he hung up the phone and the through it across the room and into a wall. He sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands. "She wasn't supposed to find out this way and it's not how it seems I was just trying to help her" he cries into hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note**

**For those of you who like friends you might remember for a period of time Rachel was living with Joey. But in this fanfiction Aria is temporarily staying at Toby's apartment. In the guest room of his loft because she feels like she has nowhere else to go. She's still upset over her dad's affair with Meredith and her mom's about to get married. So Toby offered her his guest room while she figured things out. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please Review :)**

Aria ran up the stairs at the brew which lead her to Toby's loft. She put her key in the lock and quickly twisted it around to unlock the door. She wasn't even thinking that Toby might have Spencer over when she walked through the door with tears rushing down her cheeks. She looks up to see Spencer on top of Toby, whispering sweet nothings in his ear while he kisses her shoulder. They still haven't noticed Aria has entered the loft. As Arias keys hit the counter the half-naked couple turns around to face her.

"Aria hi, I I didn't realize you had walked in" Toby said helping Spencer get under a blanket.

"Its fine" she whispered "I'll just be in my room, you don't have to worry about bothering me" she said as she sniffled and headed toward her bedroom hoping they hadn't noticed her puffy red eyes.

"Aria wait" Spencer called

She stopped but didn't turn around to face spencer "Hmm" she asked

"Are you ok?" she asked

"Ya I'm fine" she said as she walked into her bedroom and closed the door. She changed out of her tear soaked clothes and into her pajamas. Before sitting down on her bed and burying her face in her stuffed pig.

Toby continued kissing Spencer; "I love when you whisper in my ear" he said but she pushed him away

"I think I'm gonna go home" she said pulling her leggings back on

"You don't have to leave just yet come on Spence a little longer" toby replied with his puppy dog face.

She sat down on the couch next to him and held his hand "I can't, you need to go talk to Aria"

"Why do I need to go talk to Aria? I want to talk to you" he replied "Come on she said she was fine and we weren't bothering her"

"Toby" Spencer said to him in a loud voice "When she came in she was crying her eyes were all puffy and her face was red, you and Aria have been friends for like ever. Sometimes she talks to you more than me and we're Team SPARIA. So I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's wrong with her"

They shared one last kiss before Toby walked her out to her car.

"I love you baby" he said "Come back anytime"

"Haha I love you too babe" She said before leaving

Toby knocked on the door before walking into Aria's room and sitting on the bed next to her.

"Hey doll" he said "what's going on with you" he asked

"I don't want to talk about it" she said

"Did Ezra do something" he asked

She took the covers off her head and looked over at him and nodded her head.

"What can I do to help Aria?"

Tears filled up in her eyes "I just need everyone I care about to stop lying to me"

"What do you mean? What happened" he scooted closer to her and waited for her to answer.

She took a deep breath before saying "For a while I was going to Ezra's here and there because I missed his place. I would go right after school on days I knew he had meeting and I would hang out there for an hour or so and do homework like I used to. But about a month ago I was there and I heard a phone ringing it wasn't mine or the landline. So I started going through the couch cushions and that's when I found this phone. I'd never seen it before and the caller ID was "Unknown". So I picked it up but before I could say anything I heard a very familiar voice on the other end telling me. "The thing I ordered was ready to be picked up from the UPS store under the name "Cece Drake". The person hung up before they even realized I wasn't Ezra.

"Wait who was the person who called?" Toby interrupted

"Oh that's the weird part" she said "I'm ninety-nine percent sure it was Wren" isn't that weird she said before continuing her story.

"Sorry one more thing" Toby interrupted "Did you go pick up the package?"

"Actually I did" she replied with a smirk "This story keeps getting weirder if you can even believe that" she replied

"So on the camera there are 12 pictures and they all must have some sort of significance. It starts with pictures of the five of us in the barn before Ali disappeared. Then there's pictures of just us four. Next is one of me opening the barn door as Spencer told me "She looked everywhere for Ali".Then there are pictures of Ian and then NAT club pictures. There's a picture of Garrett and Jenna. There's another picture of Jason passed out on the couch. Then one of my dad and Allison in that yellow top she was wearing that night. But then there's this one picture it looks like one that should've been deleted. All you can see his the person's shirt, arm and a little bit of a ring. So after taking all those camera classes I knew some tips and tricks how to get a better quality of a small image on a picture. Long story short I recognized the ring. It's one that Ezra wears all the time it was his grandpa's. So what I'm saying is this camera is probably Ezra's and he was around the night Alison disappeared" she exclaimed.

"Ok so two weeks ago we went to class and Ezra had a sub which was weird because I had no clue he was going to be out of town" She said

"So I asked the teacher how long she would be subbing and she said Fitz was out the whole week. So I took that as my opportunity to take the week and go through his entire apartment."

"Oh lord" toby interrupted

"What" she asked

"Why didn't you just ask him about the pictures" toby asked

"Why would I do that? I was on a mission anyway" she continued

"So it wasn't until Thursday that I found something interesting. You know how when you go visit someone in Radley you need a visitors pass?" she asked

"Yes I know how it works" toby replied mockingly

She gave him a look "Well he had 2 visitors' passes one that said Fitzgerald and one that said "

Toby sat up straight and turned to face her " are you sure?" he asked

"Yes I'm sure look" she said as she pulled out her phone to show him she wasn't crazy "Why is that so significant" she asked

"E is Eddie, Eddie Lamb do you remember that name" he asked

"Should I" she asked him confused

"He was my mom's favorite doctor" toby replied "I visited with him often even after my mom passed away. He used to help me get in to Radley to talk to Mona and when Spencer was in Radley he was her doctor. He has answers." He took a long pause debating if he should tell Aria more.

"Answers about…" she asked

He took a deep breath "There was a period of time that Allison was going to therapy. He helped her a lot" he replied "That girl definitely has a dark side. I met her before she was big popular Ali D. I can almost remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday afternoon I was sitting in this big open room with games and a piano"

**Flashback**

_"Eddie dear who's playing this beautiful music" Marion asked_

_Eddie pointed across the room to this beautiful blonde playing the piano "Her name is Allison" he replied_

_"What is such a beautiful girl doing here" She asked_

_"She's here for therapy and playing the piano soothes her" he replied_

_Eddie walked over to Allison and told her someone would like to meet her_

_"Allison this is Marion Cavanaugh she loved listening to your music and this is her son Toby" he replied before stepping off to the side._

_"Your beautiful" Marion sais to her "Are you knew to Rosewood" she asked_

_"Kind of, I used to live on the far side of town on Mockingbird lane, it was a beautiful home but my sister Courtney got very very sick and we had to move closer to town so we could be closer to Radley. She comes here for treatment on a lot and I come along to play the piano." She replied with a smile_

_"I'm so sorry about your sister" Toby interjected as he extended his hand "I'm Toby Cavanaugh" he said "Will you be coming to Rosewood High in the fall" he asked_

_"I will" she replied "I better get back to my sisters room before my parents get back. I'm sure I'll see you around. I you feel better Mrs. Cavanaugh" she said as she turned to walk away_

_"It was nice meeting you" Marion called before Allison disappeared from the room._

"So you knew Allison before she was bug and popular but what does that have to do with anything?" Aria asked

"Allison wasn't there to visit her very sick sister. Do you remember the story Ali told you girls that first Halloween about the two sisters and how one tried to kill the other one?" Toby asked her

"Ya so" Aria replied

"So Allison's not a fantastic writer that story is real and that's why they were going to Radley. Allison was in therapy for nearly killing her sister and her sister was there trying to be saved." He told her "As her sister started getting better they would play these tricks on their parents and would switch places at Radley"

Aria stared at him, she looked so confused "So Allison has a twin sister?" Aria asked

"Not a twin an older sister she's two years older than Ali" Toby replied "Those tricks they played lasted through that summer they went to Cape May. The Family vacationed there to finally get away for a while now that all their kids where getting better. Allison and her sister would stay out late and go to parties around town and even go to clubs.

"But Ali was what 15 how was she getting into clubs?" Aria asked

"She had too older sibling Jason and Cece" Toby replied

Aria nearly spit out her drink "Cece as in Cece Drake is Allison's sister?! That's not possible how is this even possible?!" Aria questioned

"The Dilaurentis family is full of secrets and lies" Toby replied "That story is for another time" he said before continuing his story.

"So there was this one night Allison came to Cece and told her she was late and that she couldn't tell Jason because she thinks the father is one of his friends. She knew Jason would kill that guy for hooking up with his little sister so…." Aria cut him off. She paused; "Wait; did you say they were vacationing in Cape May the summer of 05'." She asked

Toby nodded realizing that Aria probably figured out where he was going with this. He looked up at her and saw tear forming in her eyes.

"Is Ezra" she paused "Is Ezra board shorts?" she asked him.

Toby takes a long pause but Aria interrupts "Toby that's a yes or no question is he or isn't he Board Shorts" she asked tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks.

Toby nodded "But Aria it's not that simple there's so much more to it then him having the nickname "board short" he called to her but she was already heading to her car. Tonight she was going to go for a drive and check into a hotel for the night. She needed to clear her head. Everything she knew was turning into lies and she needed to alone.

"I'll be back in the morning" she called before driving off.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since Aria and Ezra had split up and every English class was 10 times as awkward as the last. They would make awkward eye contact or Ezra would call on her in class and as she answered the tension between them flooded the room. No one knew they had been dating. Everyone just knew there was some sort of tension in every class period this week. At the end of Monday's class Ezra had asked her to stay late but she was the first to leave class. We were all in the some Don't Ask Don't Tell position and it was getting worse by the day. Aria was so, so distant. She was a million miles away and we didn't know how to help her no one did.

"Alright class, I know its Friday and you all want to go home so"

"So you're going to let us go home?" Noel joked

"Funny Mr. Khan, but No" Ezra replied "Today we are going to have a debate that will count as a test grade so all of you must participate" Ezra said as he gave Aria a look. She just rolled her eyes back at him.

"So what's the topic?" Spencer interrupted

"Is lying ok" Ezra replied

"That's it?" Hanna asked

"That's the topic" He replied

The debate began smoothly everyone was giving their case but it wasn't the debate Ezra was looking for so he throughout this question. "Ok here's a scenario" he interrupted "What if you lied to someone you loved to protect them from something. Even though at the time they hated you for it at the end it's what was best for them"

Aria knew he was talking about them and suddenly the debate turned into an argument

"So Mr. Fitz hypothetically speaking if you told someone lie after lie, keeping secrets from them and hiding away the truth. Even though that was "best for them" that's ok?" She asked

"That's correct" he said "I believe in certain circumstances lying is your only option"

"But what if what you thought was in someone's best interest wasn't. I mean you don't just get to go around deciding how people get to feel" she replied

"Ok that's true but let me show you an example, who wants to volunteer" Ezra asked the class "Ok Sean, Spencer, and Hanna come up here" he said " So hypothetically speaking Hanna was dating Sean and Spencer knew Sean was cheating on Hanna but he asked her to keep it quiet. He was going to stop sleeping around and just be with Hanna. Should Spencer keep that secret?"

"No" Emily interrupted "If I were to find out someone was keeping a secret like that from me I would be just as mad at them as I would be at the person who cheated!" she replied

Lucas interrupted them "But what if they would've went on and had a happy marriage and you just took that away by spilling the beans"

"The truth is like a box of chocolates once you know a little bit of it you just want more" Hanna replied "See Spence I'm not just shoe smart, I think that quotes from a movie"

Spencer let out a sign "Life Han, Life is like a box of chocolates"

"At least I was close" she replied

"Yes Han you were so close" Spencer replied trying not to argue her point.

This debate was basically at a standstill except for the little back and forth commentary between classmates so Ezra through one last point out. "Ok class ends in 15 minutes so I want to wrap up this discussion so; Say there's a couple and their relationship was always worth fighting for why would one slip make it so easy to give up on" Ezra asked the class  
"Well when an individual realizes that what they've been fighting for is unrealistic they begin to give up on it" Aria replied  
"What would make it unrealistic "Ezra asked

"When you begin to ask yourself "is this real worth it?" That's when you need to rethink something in that relationship" she replied  
"But if in the end it came out to be worth waiting for and you"  
Aria quickly cut him off "But an individual can only wait so long before they get tired of trying"  
"But what if the other individual was able to explain how what you thought was so wrong was really so right" Ezra pleaded  
"Ya and what if I wasted my time trying and it never ended out happily" she replied  
"But if it could've and you walked away wouldn't that kill you" Ezra asked  
"I believe if your soul mates "she paused and looked him in the eye "you'll always find your way back to each other even if at the time it seems worthless to fight for it I think you'd eventually learn to find love in them again" she replied  
"So you'd walk away that easy with the hope of finding that love again" he questioned her before asking "you wouldn't even stick around long enough to let the other individual explain. To me that's foolish Ms. Montgomery, you spend your life searching for a soul mate only to find one and let them slip away after a simple mistake"  
"But what if that mistake was so unforgettable and so selfish of the other individual wouldn't you walk away at some point too?" Aria replied back to him  
"Someone who meant the world to me once said "relationships are worth fighting for no matter what the odds" if that individual believed in those words with their whole heart and truly loved the other individual the same walking away would be impossible" he said to her. Those words stung as she

Thought about them her face suddenly turned bright red and she left the room as tears started rushing down her cheeks.

"Aria" he called but he was too late she was long gone. Her friends gave each other that look before Spencer got out of her seat and heading to check on Aria in the bathroom she knew that fight wasn't an ordinary debate it was about their broken relationship a way for Ezra to talk to her. He probably didn't mean for it to go this far but it had and there was nothing he could do about it.  
"Mr. Fitz" Noel interrupted "I see what you're saying but I think your stance on this is even more foolish than Aria's. You see the individual who is truly at wrong in the argument needs to have the knowledge to understand they are equally as foolish as the individual walking away"  
"How so" Ezra replied standing back up from his desk  
"Well the person who's wrong needs to have the patience to wait for the other person to realize there just as wrong for not fighting for their relationship. As well as the one who lied and cheated needs to own up to what they did and not only that, but be man enough to apologize.

You see the man in supposed to be the foundation of the relationship if the foundation crumbles the structure will come down as well. So the women and the man have to help each other and keep each other stable so that if one falls the other is always there to pick them up." Noel said as he got up in front of the class. "But if one individual could walk away so easily the man isn't doing his job as the foundation to provide to her what she needs. So although the man lied and the women was walking out you can't blame her for shattering something that wasn't completely stable to begin with." Noel said just as the bell rang for class to be dismissed.

Noel made a point to be the last one to leave class and went up to Ezra's desk. "What did you do to her that is so horrible she won't go back" Noel asked.

"That's a bit personal" he replied

"Not anymore you made it public in front of the whole class" he replied "I know it was about her" he said as he headed for the door.

Ezra stopped him "About who"

"Aria" he replied "That argument was about your relationship with her everyone knew it. Well the ones who were awake. But still Mr. Fitz that argument was too passionate to have just been about nothing. Look I used to go out with Aria, I know she's a very passionate person and she stands firm in what she believes. But if what you were saying up there was true that she doesn't know the whole story, you have to let her know! Cause if you don't your just letting her slip through your fingers and that's no one's fault but your own." Noel said as he walked out of Ezra's class.

Deep down Ezra knew Noel was right but he'd never admit that.

Hanna and Emily entered the bathroom to find spencer hugging Aria as she sat on the floor, her face buried in her hands. She wiped a tear from her cheek "was everyone laughing at me walking out on that" she asked  
Hanna shook her head "Noel just told Ezra how it is"  
She looked up "He did"  
"Ya if only you could've heard it he stood up for you Ar, and no one really noticed you left half the class was asleep until the bell rang anyway" Emily said

"Do you want to go to out next class" Spencer asked

They sat there for a second before Aria cried into Spencer's shirt "No" she sniffled "I can't do this anymore, he was supposed to be my happy ending, my happily ever after."

Spencer stroked her hair softly "I don't understand, what happened between you too"

Aria doesn't reply but stands up and walks over to the sink to wash her face off "Nothing" she says as she turns to face them. "I'm just going to go home" she replied before leaving the bathroom.

Her three best friends turned to face each other as there phone chimed. Emily read out loud "One of you knows too much doesn't it suck to be on the outside?"-A

By now it was 9 o'clock on a Friday night and Toby had just left to go have movie night was Spencer. Aria's been conflicted all day decided what to do about this Ezra's situation. She can't so it anymore she can't keep living this life. She grabs her a pen and a piece of paper.

_Toby,_

_Its Aria, I'm leaving for now whether I go on a drive and I'm home in the morning or a week or even never I just wanted to let you know I'll be ok. I can't face this town anymore. I can't keep living with –A. I need a break. I love you, thanks for everything you've done for me. ~Aria._

She stuck the note on the counter and left. She drove aimlessly for a while thinking about everything that's happened since she found out Ezra was A. If she returned to Rosewood would this be her new life? Avoiding Ezra every day! Or would she be better off starting her life again a few towns over? She thought if I leave rosewood no one will see me again. No one's going to care I'll just be another one of those missing Rosewood girls. But then she realized buy disappearing she was letting A win. She had built up way too much to let A just pull her right back down. So she pulled off to the side of the road and took out her phone. It was time to tell her friends the truth. As she thought about what to say a text came through her phone. "Careful Aria, telling the truth to the wrong person at the wrong time is how you'll end up like me –A" But she couldn't let A get to her she had to go with her gut on this one.

_I'm alright, but I can't keep doing this on my own anymore, I realized that y'all are the ones I truly need in my life. I know it's early but would you meet me at Spencer's lake house at 3am. I know who –A is. ~SOS Aria. _

She signed it and then proceeded back onto the express way. She couldn't decide if she was going to send it or not but she had to, she couldn't live like that anymore knowing more than her friends. So she reached her hand over and pressed SEND.


End file.
